U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,403 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,168 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.28% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of USPH. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company's stock worth $56,522,000 after buying an additional 99,244 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 112,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,021,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 343,073 shares of the company's stock worth $29,040,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,714 shares of the company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at U.S. Physical Therapy

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total value of $142,050.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This trade represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Down 1.3 %

USPH traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,803. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.77 and a 52-week high of $108.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.83, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.38.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $180.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.10 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. On average, research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research cut their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.00.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.